Developing Odontoma in the Mandible of an Eight-Year-Old Boy.

Benign mixed odontogenic tumors have been repeatedly classified and reclassified over the past few decades. Odontoma is considered a hamartoma due to its slow growth and non-aggressive nature. We present an interesting case of developing odontoma in an eight-year-old boy. His complaint was a slow-growing swelling in the lower right back tooth region. Clinical examination revealed a carious deciduous second molar. The orthopantomogram revealed a well-defined radiolucency around the unerupted mandibular first premolar and impacted mandibular second premolar. Histopathology revealed an odontogenic epithelial lining overlying myxofibrous stroma with inflammatory cells and calcified structures with few odontogenic rests. Special staining methods including Van Gieson and modified Gallego stains led to the final diagnosis of a developing odontoma.

Comparison of Hematoxylin and Eosin Stain with Modified Gallego's Stain for Differentiating Mineralized Components in Ossifying Fibroma, Cemento-ossifying Fibroma, and Cementifying Fibroma.

OBJECTIVE: The nature of calcifications in fibro-osseous lesions is difficult to differentiate under hematoxylin and eosin (H and E) stain and could be misleading. Special stains could be used. Modified Gallego's stain is a differential stain for hard tissues, which has been discussed recently in the literature. METHODS: Retrospective study was done from June to December 2015 to differentiate various types of mineralized tissues in ossifying fibroma (OF), cemento-OF (COF), and cementifying fibroma (CF), using modified Gallego's stain and its correlation with H and E stain. Control group comprised of decalcified section of bone, tooth, and odontoma, stained with modified Gallego's stain. Study group comprised of 30 lesions (10 OF, 10 COF, and 10 CF) stained with both modified Gallego's stain and H&E stain. This study did not have any numerical data; therefore, no appropriate statistical test could be performed. Hence, cross tabulation of the categorical data was used followed by descriptive statistical analyses. Results were presented on continuous measurements using mean ± standard deviation, and results on categorical measurements were presented in number (%). RESULTS: Modified Gallego's staining showed that, out of 10 cases of OF, 9 cases were interpreted as OF; one case of juvenile psammomatoid OF was interpreted as juvenile psammomatoid COF. Out of 10 cases of COF, 4 cases were interpreted as OF. Out of 10 cases of CF, 2 cases were interpreted as COF and 3 cases as OF. CONCLUSIONS: Fibro-osseous lesions are difficult to diagnose using H and E staining alone. Modified Gallego's stain could be a best adjunct.

Demystifying the nature of hard tissues in odontogenic tumors using Modified Gallego's stain: A preliminary study.

INTRODUCTION: Histological stains are dyes that bind to a variety of tissues. Modified Gallego's (MG) stain is a modification of Lille's stain that can be used as a differential stain for identification of hard tissues in oral pathological lesions. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to identify the presence of hard tissues such as enamel, dentin and cementum in normal extracted teeth and odontogenic tumors using MG stain and to compare the efficacy of MG stain with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) stain. METHODS: A total of fifty samples, twenty decalcified sections of teeth and thirty cases of odontogenic tumors, were included in the present study. Two sections were cut from the above cases and stained with H&E stain and MG stain, respectively, and assessed for the nature of hard tissue. RESULTS: In H&E staining, enamel, dentine, cementum and bone stained pink. Whereas, in MG stain, enamel stained pink, dentin and bone stained green, while cementum stained red. The shade of color differs with the degree of mineralization of the hard tissues in MG stain. CONCLUSION: MG stain can be used as a differential stain for different hard-tissue structures when compared to routine H and E staining.